Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Today's Teamster News 08.20.13

DeKalb County Workers Nearer to Union  Atlanta Journal-Constitution   ...DeKalb County took a huge step toward having its first union representing nonpublic safety workers...
Don’t Forget to Register for the Teamster Women’s Conference  IBT   ...The Teamster Women’s Conference will be held September 19-21, 2013 in New Orleans. Sign up to join your Teamster Sisters and Brothers in this dynamic event while space is still available!...
Shaheen: High Sugar Prices Not Sweet for Jobs  Portsmouth Patch   ...Speaking to union representatives at the Teamsters Bakery and Laundry Conference in Portsmouth Monday, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, said high sugar prices are killing manufacturing jobs across the country...
Rally for fair trade Tuesday in Minneapolis  Workday Minnesota   ...Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen will headline a rally Tuesday by union members, community groups and others to protest the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal...
Fast-food workers call for nationwide walkout Aug. 29  Washington Post   ...Emboldened by an outpouring of support on social media, low-wage fast-food and retail workers from eight cities that staged walkouts earlier this year are calling for a national day of strikes on Aug. 29...
Moral Monday protesters rail against 'Mecklenburg trio'  Charlotte Observer   ...One of the city’s largest protests – police estimated about 2,000 demonstrators – packed into uptown’s Marshall Park...
Despite nearly 300 arrests, Capitol protest grows  Wisconsin State Journal   ...Participation in the noontime Capitol protest against Gov. Scott Walker continued to crescendo Monday despite nearly four weeks of almost daily arrests for gathering in the rotunda without a permit...
Americans Get Fewer Paid Sick Days Than Two Decades Ago  Think Progress   ...Compared to 1993, Americans now get fewer paid sick days from their employers on average, dropping from 10 days a year to eight for a worker who has been with a company for a year. The decrease becomes bigger the longer an employee stays on...
Bangladesh’s Workers Deserve Better  New York Times   ...Four months after a building collapse killed more than 1,100 factory workers in Bangladesh, their families are still waiting for adequate — and in some cases, any — compensation. This is a shocking lapse by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government...
Democrats push back on voting rights  Washington Post   ...After crying foul over Republican efforts to modify election laws in key states, Democrats are launching their own wide-ranging push to change the way Americans vote, kicking off the latest battles in a fight over voting rights that’s as old as the republic itself...
Congressman Brags About ‘Savings’ In Farm Bill, Ignoring Devastating Food Stamp Cuts  Think Progress   ...Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) flagrantly misrepresented what the House has done with the farm bill at a recent constituent breakfast in Turlock, California. Denham claimed the House farm bill cuts twice as much spending as it actually does, misled about the nature of those cuts, and ignored his party’s unprecedented decision to drop food stamps and other anti-hunger and anti-poverty spending from the bill...
The Incredible Con the Banksters Pulled on the FBI (opinion)  OpEdNews   ...criminal referrals have virtually vanished against the "accounting control frauds" that drive our recurrent, intensifying financial crises...
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Said to Avoid Billions in Write-Offs  Bloomberg News   ...Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have reported record profits after a taxpayer bailout, are ignoring billions of dollars in potential losses on delinquent loans as they take three years to adopt a new accounting system, a government auditor said in a letter made public today...
Samsung hit with lawsuit over labor conditions  Washington Post   ...Samsung has been named in a lawsuit filed by a Brazilian labor group, which said working conditions at the technology firm’s assembly lines were in violation of Brazilian law. The group is asking for at least $108 million in damages...
Obama goes to bat for Big Tobacco in TPP  Action on Smoking and Health   ...Legal analysts for the public health community, who were briefed Friday morning in a closed session by administration officials, agreed that the new proposal will do little to protect governments’ right to regulate tobacco...
1,800 Ohio jobs lost  Dayton Daily News   ...Offshoring continues to impact Ohio with companies cutting at least 1,800 jobs in the state since January, according to petitions for federal assistance from employees, labor groups, and company officials...
Support lacking for BART strike ban  San Francisco Examiner   ...BART remains the busiest public transit system in the U.S. that does not have a worker strike ban in place, and the route to blocking that right could be a long journey...
There's A New Push To Raise Seattle Minimum Wage To $15 Per Hour  Associated Press   ...Washington already has the nation's highest state minimum wage at $9.19 an hour. Now, there's a push in Seattle, at least, to make it $15...
Indiana customers due $32M from 6 utilities  Indianapolis Business Journal   ...Indiana's largest power companies are set to reimburse their customers $32 million after falling short on spending for energy efficiency last year...
Minnesota factories' output up, employment down  Minnesota Public Radio   ...Minnesota's factories are churning out lots of products like airplane parts and medical devices these days, but they're not exactly going on hiring sprees...